Participating in the Qatar Public Health Strategy 2017-2022 Consultation survey could give a chance to win prizes to the respondents. The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) has announced prizes for those participating in the survey which can be filled by logging in to www.phs.moph.gov.qa.
The survey offers chance to win prizes such as spa and gym memberships, MoPH said on its social media pages. With the hashtag #QatarHealthSurvey, the MoPH is encouraging people to be a part in the first-of-a-kind activity that will help shape the national agenda for public health.
The online public health survey seeks feedback on health issues, which will be used to inform the Qatar Public Health Strategy 2017-2022 prior to its formal launch. It is considered as one of the largest public health consultations ever carried out in the GCC.
The survey has 16 comprehensive questions such as seeking reasons for not following a healthy lifestyle, opinion about public health programmes as well as on areas which need to be enhanced.
“We want more people, at least few thousands within the next months to take part in the survey,” said Sheikh Dr Mohammed Hamad Al Thani, Director of Public Health at MoPH during launch of the Consultation.
The Qatar Public Health Strategy 2017-2022 sets out 63 objectives to address 16 key health areas – these include diabetes, cardiovascular disease, road safety, occupational health and tobacco cessation.
The strategy recognizes tobacco use as one of the most pressing health risks in Qatar. The objectives set for Tobacco Cessation provide a comprehensive plan to reduce the number of smokers in Qatar and, therefore, decrease the associated burden of disease. The objectives focus on strengthening tobacco legislation, which includes enforcing and reinforcing existing public bans, and providing greater support to those smokers who wish to quit, but need help. The strategy recognizes the addictive nature of tobacco and for this reason the objectives target preventing people from ever taking up the habit. It also aims at establishing a tobacco surveillance system (at a national level involving the primary care system) and conduct regular surveys on tobacco usage as per the Global Tobacco Surveillance System recommendations. While the strategy’s objectives related to occupational health are aligned with the World Health Organization’s recommendations and develop an occupational health profile including demographic information, economic data, health sector description, and disease statistics for all countries. This data and reporting system will enable authorities to identify trends in occupational health and focus efforts on areas of concern. Educating manual labourers and ensuring safety standards are maintained are also both key aspects of the objectives aimed at reducing the incidence of workplace injury.
